Why cotic: on sale
Why bfe: Hardtail, good reputation, good comms with cotic staff, adaptability and low slung. It also good for street and skatepark duties
Setup: Marz 44Ti RC3 forks, Sun Ringle Black Flag expert wheel set, Saint/Slx brakes, RaceFace respond doublecrankset, Funn Fatboy bar and other small bits.

It’s in commuting mode at the moment with some slicks on. They’re pretty fun in mud! XC rides i use Larsens and big stuff i use Big Bettys

Always fancied a Bfe and after seeing this thread and the new Bfe I think i’m going to treat myself.
I’m 6 foot tall, will the 17.5″ frame be a good choice?

My BFe.

* why cotic ??

I have wanted one for a few years they just looked lovely. After owning a 456 that I wasn’t impressed with I wanted a change.

* why that model

Suits my riding style.

* set up

Pikes, 321 rims, wide bars and shortish stem. May try a shorter stem and see what happens.

* opinions !!

Bloody love it.

P1010082 by i_ache, on Flickr

BFe in blue with Pikes, Tech X2’s, SLX drivetrain, Superstar wheels, Nukeproof bars, Reverb – it’s ace on just about everything! Looking forward to getting my ‘X’ arriving in the next few weeks!

Cotic Bfe by dave.w.taylor, on Flickr

* I love Brit bikes, and after Benji Haworth’s review on the Hemlock in an earlier issue I was sold

* Wanted a bouncer, and as above

* 150mm DT Swiss EXM – Fox RP23 – Sram X-9 1×9 – 740mm Nukeproof Warhead – (Mud wheel set) Hope Pro II Mavic 317 – (Larking about wheel set) Halo Combats with Hope front and DMR rear hubs – Hope Mini brakes

* Chuckle.. I love it. Shame the production stopped

Oh… and now my 8 year old’s got one 🙂 Now sporting a Hope Pro3 wheel set

I just thought of something crappy about Cotic! The awful Hope seat clamps that come with the frame.

That’s about it.

I forgive them

Anyone got one with a Lefty attached? Not sure how it would look with the comparatively thin tubing, but love the look of the Solaris…

As an aside, what do you think the chances are of a 29er Rocket or equivelant coming to market soon? I’d Hoover one up!

Not wanting to poop anybody’s party, and I enjoy riding my Soul, but I don’t quite undertand the adulation the brand gets, it seems to be up there with Apple.

If things don’t work out I reckon Cy could have a very lucrative second career as a marketing consultant.

I don’t quite undertand the adulation the brand gets, it seems to be up there with Apple.

I think it is the personalised service and niche products. But also the products are extremely good and by looking at reviews, my mind was made up to get a BFe. I could have had the un-decaled carbon 456 for the same price and would have saved 1kg off my build weight but the reviews convinced me that the weight was worth taking for a frame that was much for fun and suited me more. I came to like long travel steel hard tails. they may not be the fastest or lightest but for me everything revolves around having a great time and my BFe has certainly given me that. I admittedly would have probably got a stanton slackline but it didn’t seem to be worth the extra £100. Also I think I could find a lot more negative feedback about apple! and rightly so IMHO. the only thing I would like to have seen when I got my BFe, was a made in England badge rather than Taiwan.

quick question for smoothchicken and ropey job……

what rise are the nukeproof bars you both have??

cheers

steve

with the above comment, I think Cotic is one of the fewer brands out there that give off bullshit marketing tactics. Apple on the other hand are the complete opposite with media coverage release lectures. Cy takes time to explain his methods rather than pummel POS into the consumer.

renton – I’ve got the 20mm rise 760mm wide Warhead bars coupled with a 60mm Warhead stem on a small Bfe

I think the fact Cy comes on here to answer questions and has taken on board comments is a great approach to customer service.

I think the fact Cy comes on here to answer questions and has taken on board comments is a great approach to customer service.

nail – head

I’ve had 3, kept one… Started out with a Soul, which I miss… It was a perfect bike for me when I got it, so well rounded, took me all over and really pushed me along. But eventually I decided I wanted something less of an allrounder and more of a descender so chopped it in for an Mmmbop (mistake) then a C456 (going well)

So then I got this, still got it, no intention of changing it. Lyriks up front, 120mm in the back, slacked off to 66 degrees with a works components head angle reducer, light-ish and strong enough. I’ve raced at fort william on this, and done enduros and downhill at innerleithen, but also rode it for a week in france, xc rides in the pentlands and on the west highland way… Love it.

Oh, and I had a lovely grey BFe but didn’t keep it long, not the right bike for me.

And then, there’s “Why cotic”. Well, first of all for making a great bike, and also for putting in the development, frinstance suggesting the head angle reducer. But also, I broke the swingarm after an uplift day at innerleithen. No warranty, I bought it used. No bother, says Cy, have a new one for free. Last year, I broke the linkage on the world cup route at fort william, practicing for the endurance downhill race. Phoned up to buy a replacement, they wouldn’t take my money.

And sure, you might say it shouldn’t have broken- but it’s not a downhill bike, so to have them honour a warranty that doesn’t exist, on a bike that they know gets used for stuff it’s not really meant for, is awesome. I can’t fault it for breaking and I’d not have faulted them for charging me for replacements. Especially since with the new link fitted it went on and performed faultlessly for 6 hours of racing at fort william, while proper downhill bikes fell apart.

So yeah. Fanboi but I think they deserve some fanbois.

This is the pits man by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

Soda 1. Lovely, but it broke.

Soda 2. Even more lovely, but I discovered the wheels weren’t big enough.

Solaris. It’s lush in every respect. I’d probably buy a Ti one if they made it, but only because I’m a tart. Love the orange anyway.

Why: I love the way they ride, the way they look and the fact that they’re really nicely made. I like the fact they’re UK and smallish and that they interact with and listen to their customers. I like their marketing and their brand image.

I’d like a Rocket too, but will have to wait for the big wheeled version.

Ok, it looks a little different now with white AC wheels, but you get the idea.

* why cotic ??

* why that model
Answer to that is the little white Genesis Altitude hiding behind. Having seen how much more my wife was enjoying her riding on that compared to the previous, more racy angled Trek she had, I wanted something similar. Ended up with the Soul (as we can’t have exactly matching bikes now can we), much to her disgust as that is what she originally wanted, but couldn’t make the budget stretch.
The only thing is so many people assume that I have bought her the cheaper version of my own bike, which really gets on her wick, and has started annoying me too. It’s not as if women can’t choose their own bikes, is it?

* set up

* opinions !!

Same really on both bikes pictured – Lightweight tubeless wheels, 3×9, and adjustable travel forks. (Hers Recons 85-135, mine Revs 100-130)

Simply the best bike I’ve ever owned, and the first I haven’t wanted to change after a year or so. It’s as quick as I can be going up, lets me get away with plenty coming down, and on the kind of undulating, pedally singletrack, well, just fantastic.

Side question: those horseshoe shape clips that came with my frame, for clipping the brake hose into the little welded brackets, what are they called and where can I get more? Ta.

Hose clip. I think that’s the right thing, anyway.

Aye, that’s them. Or you can use cableties obviously.

Ta. Good god a quid each!

ok 5 for 2.69 from Halfords

* why cotic ??
they offer about the nicest production frames I can imagine / know of.

* why that model
because I was looking for a big wheeled hardtail.

* set up
120mm reba, mavic/hope wheelset, xlc uppy downy post, syntace stem, 710mm groovy cycleworks luv handles, saint mech, 1×6 on the ss hub, old lx cranks, diy chain device, time xroc pedals, 2.4 ardents and my trusty old magura louise with a new old raceline lever (wich i got in finale after i busted the original one. got the other one as well, just have to find time to install it).

* opinions !!
it’s just ace! a very versatile and well balanced bike that could take everything I threw at it so far. that includes proper freeriding in finale (e.g. defender tour) and the rock strewn trails we ride here in the czech/german border region (labe sandstone mountains) on a fairly regular basis.

All Martn Schussfahrrad by all martn, on Flickr

Drivetrain of Death by all martn, on Flickr

All Martn Stairs by Hagbard_, on Flickr

Side question: those horseshoe shape clips that came with my frame, for clipping the brake hose into the little welded brackets, what are they called and where can I get more? Ta.

No idea but everytime I buy something from Cotic I ask for a bag of them. Apparently they get a “few” spares with every batch.
A £1 each mental.

why cotic ??
I love hardtails and Cotic seem to make very good ones. It was between that or an 456ss at the time, I couldn’t resist the lovely blueness

why that model?
It was to be my only bike and it needs to be able to do everything from all day XC to uplift days/Alps…..so BFe.

set up
AM set up, ZTR Flow/Hope wheels, Pikes, Big stupid bars, 1×9 (coz I’m norvern ‘n’ ‘ard)

opinions
I love it, really, it’s quite amazing. So direct and sturdy. I do sometimes worry that I could never love anything as much as I love my BFe. The only thing I would change is that I want to try it with 160mm forks, but other than that, it’s perfect.

Original build:

With super-duper bars

In the air up at Inners

Why Cotic?
I like the way their design philosphy and end product

Why that model?
It was sitting in my LBS window for ages and talked to me everytime I passed it. A combination of a size that’s too small for most and a colour that “divides opinion” was probably why it wasn’t bought by someone else sooner!

Build?
I call it a “$h!t from the shed” build. Other than the frame the only bits I bought were the cables and a new stem. The rest was just stuff that I had sitting in boxes in my shed.

Opinions?
Love it! It’s built up with heavy, old, cheap parts and it probably deserves a better build kit but it just rides so well and works so reliably that I just don’t give it too much time or thought.

My old BFe, with the seat up for going uphill, but with it down it was as much of a hoot to ride as it looks…

Sold it (to Northwind) cos it just wasn’t the bike for me most of the time. At the time, I had 2 other hardtails and this was really just a play bike. It was also, being a Mk1 BFe, ridiculously stiff! Cy definitely made the first BFe’s to last, put it that way, you won’t find one snapped anywhere! Didn’t help that in my case I covered it in pretty heavy components and it came in at about 32lb, cos it wasn’t light and lively, but my god it was a tough bit of kit!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

My Soul:

Wanted to replace my Marin Pine mountain with something longer travel, have always ridden steel hardtails and the Soul seemed to be best of breed.

Build. RockShox Reba RLT 120mm,and alot of old stuff off the Marin, Hope Mono Minis, Hope XC Hubs with Mavic 717s, full XT.

Just done my first Mayhem on it, great bike!

Why Cotic?
I always wanted a versatile steel frame and that orange colour looks awesome. Also quite easy to obtain in Germany thanks to Eaven Cycles 🙂

Why that model?
I had to replace a damaged cross country carbon frame. Soda would habe been nice too, but I couldnt afford a titan frame 🙂

Build?
Just switches all useable parts from die Lapierre Pro Race 500, which frame I damaged by stupidity (aluminium seatpost got somehow “glued” to the frame, could only be removed by destroying it).

Opinions?
I really love that bike. Though the soul frame has twice the weight of the carbon frame, the bike is more versatile, feels indestructible, looks way better and got awesome handling on the trail. Just switch fork and tyres to get a completely different bike.

Parts: RockShox SID RLT 10mm 2011, Fulcrum Red Metal 5 wheels, XT / SLX mix, Formula RX Brakes, stem + handlebar Lapierre, seatpost Crankbrothers Cobalt 2, Fizik Gobi XM saddle, Michelin Wild Race’R Advanced Ultimate 2.25 tyres

davecrampton – Member

On my connute home.

Are you just out of shot commanding the sea to come no further? 😉

it seems a lot of people buy this bike in extra small and then stick a massively long seat post in it.Are they cheaper to buy in xxs?

manitou – Member

it seems a lot of people buy this bike in extra small and then stick a massively long seat post in it.Are they cheaper to buy in xxs?

It makes it more like a Kona thanks.

Really like that build, mboy(and Northwind). Would love a little play bike like that.

it seems a lot of people buy this bike in extra small and then stick a massively long seat post in it.Are they cheaper to buy in xxs?

Not seen an xs in this thread I think… but I ride a small frame at 5’11”. The top tube is long enough that I can stick the seat post up and comfortably ride it on the trails. Drop it down and have a small feeling, chuckable play bike that can handle the downhills and the 4x tracks.

No idea but everytime I buy something from Cotic I ask for a bag of them. Apparently they get a “few” spares with every batch.
A £1 each mental.

I dug into this a bit (yes really), they’re called ‘C Clips’ in the trade it seems.

They seem to be actively priced to discourage the home mechanic from using them! Perhaps the trade gets them cheaper and they make builds a bit quicker to do (or redo) than with zip ties.

Enjoying this thread btw.

it seems a lot of people buy this bike in extra small and then stick a massively long seat post in it.Are they cheaper to buy in xxs?

Short seat tube long top tube is how they’re made, Cotic even say ‘make sure you get a long post’ in their build advice. If you see a build with what looks like a ‘normal’ post length for an XC set up, it’s likely the rider could have gone down at least 1 size in frame.

Why Cotic?

Well built, great design, clean lines

Why that model?

Soul for XC stuff, then got the BFe for bigger stuff (but used it for everything, as it basically is the same, only a bit beefier…)
Roadrat was just picked up for a commute bike, has been battered, bashed, nearly nicked, but still plugs away.

Opinions?

Tyre clearance is not great on the older Souls or BFe. Limit was about 2.25/2.3 on a Flow rim. The BFe was really direct (or harsh, depending on your POV), which is great in some situations, but I guess I’m not a good enough rider to really get the best out of it on fast rocky descents. I initially ran the BFe with §60mm Wotans, which were cast-offs from another bike, and didn’t like them, then had U-Turn Lyriks which were better, but ran them at around 140 most of the time. Think I preferred the Soul geometry with 130mm forks – climbed great, and still stayed direct enough on singletrack/descents.

Having now switched to a Blue Pig X, I’m preferring it to the BFe, although would be tempted in due course back to a Soul, or maybe even a Solaris (I must be getting old!) The ‘Rat is fine, if flexy as a flexy thing with panniers on. I used to single speed it, with a single pannier, and cranking up a hill was like driving an articulated lorry. I’ve now stuck gears on it, and its mainly used for dragging a Chariot trailer, which it is fine for, although have also used it for CX-lite stuff around Winter Hill and even 60-90km road/off road rides, and it feels comfortable, if not the fastest.

(After someone tried to nick it)

Would I buy another? Yes, great bikes. They make you smile, which after all is what its all about!

ps. Northwind, that’s me in your pic of the Hemlock, at Fort Bill!

* why cotic – I read great reviews on the Soul when looking for a new frame and before I knew anything about the brand. Found a 2009 Soul frame on sale in my size just after the CEN frame came out.

* why that model – Was looking for a do-it all bike and wanted to build one up from the frame to hone my building skills and use parts I already had from my old bike (drivetrain, brakes, wheelset etc)

* set up – see pic

* opinions – It does it all and more, it’s light weight (ish) but not fragile, seat up and fork locked it goes up hills efficiently, seat down and fork open it goes down hills playfully, comfy for long rides, fun and chuckable for short rides, what’s not to like!

it seems a lot of people buy this bike in extra small and then stick a massively long seat post in it.Are they cheaper to buy in xxs?

Why Cotic? Because I was looking for a steel frame to replace my Kona Explosif which had been nicked and the Klein Attitude and Cove Handjob didn’t hit the spot. First ride on the Soul was such a joy in comparison, felt like how my Kona had felt when I could actually ride! Plus I had a bit of a medium/large conundrum and emailing/talking with Cy & Paul they steered me right. In what was for me a leap of faith. It paid off! Because of that I’m happy to give them a go.

I also like the fact that they properly test their frames themselves and only put out what they are happy with (i.e. See the no small Solaris and why would we reduce the Rockets travel posts on their website).

Why that model? I went for a Rocket because I wanted a full sus that felt right and it does. I went for a Solaris because I wanted to dip the toe onto the 29er idiom to see what it was like. I also tried a Nic am29er but I had reservations… Knowing, from years of Soul ownership, how to set the bike up so it would ride how I wanted it was a no brainer and I’ve not had to change anything. Felt great from the outset. Got a demo on the Rocket, decided that long, low & slack was what I was looking for and didn’t care that I wasn’t looking for 150mm travel as it didn’t detract from the ride (never found myself thinking god, it’s just too mutch I wish I had less…)

Set up is pretty much consistent across the bikes: XT trans, Hope M4’s & headsets, pro11 hubs (stans rims preferred) maxxis tyres, flatties, Thomson/Easton stems/pins/bars, bolt through forks (both RS & Fox).

Opinions: they’re all right I suppose…